Hours before Wednesday’s match against New England Revolution, Union striker Tai Baribo caught up with his father, who predicted a momentous night was incoming for his 26-year-old his son.
“My father told me that I was going to score a hat trick. I said to him, ‘I wish, but I have never scored one before!’ But then, before the game, I felt it too.”
Baribo did exactly that at Subaru Park, scoring three goals to lift his team to a dominant 5-1 win.
“I felt we would win – that’s the most important thing, and finally we can smile,” Baribo said.
The match was the culmination of a successful stretch of matches from the Israeli, who signed with the team in August 2023. Less than one month ago, he was still looking for his first Major League Soccer goal, but after his outstanding performance on Wednesday, he’s netted six, scoring in three of his six starts so far in 2024.
He scored the opening goal of the night in the 29th minute, and the moment, which marked his first at Subaru Park, was met with an eruption of applause. After bagging two more, he was voted the Sons of Ben Man of the Match, earning a chance strike the drum at midfield after the final whistle.
“It’s amazing. It’s an amazing feeling, and I want to say thank you to all of the fans who came today,” Baribo said. “I know its a tough situation, but I hope I will continue to score and we will continue to win.”
